About the Exhibition

Silver Harvest: A History of Now 

In conjunction with Click! Photography Festival in October 2022, Will Harlan Campbell created a portrait of Durham, his hometown, through the lens of 19th century photographic processes. The project includes tintype portraits of Durham residents made in Durham Central Park as well as archaeologically minded landscapes of peripheral and liminal spaces in Durham’s less-explored outskirts using the gelatin dry plate process. The dichotomous subject matter represents Durham’s past, present, and future, grounded by the present moment.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Will Harlan Campbell, a photographer from Durham, NC, has been studying and practicing photography for the past 27 years. He was immediately hooked upon taking his first photo class in high school and went on to complete his degree in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since graduating, he has been working at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, where he teaches photography courses that range from darkroom to digital and everything in between. Campbell also teaches college-level photography courses at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, a statewide magnet school in the UNC school system, as well as offering private workshops and tutorials in antique processes at Light Matter Studio.

To see the full exhibition, visit the Semans Gallery at the Durham Arts Council October 21–November 21, 2022.

 

Pictured, from top to bottom:

Ghost Tracks, 2022, Gelatin dry plate capture on archival pigment print

Collateral Damage, 2022, Gelatin dry plate capture on archival pigment print

Oops, 2022, Gelatin dry plate capture on archival pigment print